GENDER EFFECTS ON SOCIAL STUDIES JSS II STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE  IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Education is a process that lasts a lifetime. And, for the sake of this study, education may be divided into two categories: informal and formal. As a result, informal education is the type of education that occurs in society at all times and places, with every member of society acting as a student and learner (Boling, 20110). There is no set curriculum, no syllabus, no subject teachers, no classrooms, no exams, no certification, and no graduation. Despite this, society fulfilled its goals, which Fafunwa (2001) referred to as "functionalism." With the arrival of white males in Nigeria and other regions of Africa, a formal education system was established. Formal education is based on a curriculum with clearly defined material or topic syllabuses, as well as a teaching-learning process that takes place in a classroom or school. A system of education centered on tests and certification persisted until the late 1960s. It is widely acknowledged that one of the most significant, if not the most important, functions of the educational system is to develop the trained people that a country requires to grow. As a result, governments all over the world rely on their educational institutions to educate the workforce of the future (Ekeh, 2003). As a result, education is a crucial tool for achieving human resource development. In Nigeria, one of the required topics in junior secondary schools is social studies. "The topic is a discipline that may be employed in solving problems of relationship and interaction in man's dynamic environment," according to Udoh (2003). According to Bergesom (2003), Social Studies should be centered on creative approaches aimed at discovering the truth, such as issue detection, problem solutions, and learning via experimentation and discovery. It is impossible to overstate the importance of social studies in the Nigerian educational system. The development of high competences necessary for solving man's different environmental challenges for improved and effective social functioning is at the heart of Social Studies education, which is in keeping with the philosophy and goals of Nigerian education (Lau, 2010). The goal of Social Studies is to free the Nigerian kid from the apron strings of colonial education, which only preached foreign ideals, and to introduce him to his own cultural values and customs. Social Studies is taught with the goal of creating a strong Nigerian nation, regardless of ethnic variety. In addition to skill development, it is aimed at encouraging citizenship and values education (Ajibade, 2011). Despite the enormous benefits that may be garnered by including Social Studies into our school curriculum, there appears to be a poor management of the topic in secondary schools, as stated by Akpochafo (2001). Most Social Studies professors still use the lecture technique to convey knowledge, which is a major source of worry. While most Nigerian secondary school instructors use the lecture technique, the approach is meant to be activity-based. Despite the existence of learning style theories (detailing how people learn) for more than thirty years, studies like those of Umeoduagu (1994), Okobia (2000), and Akpochafo (2001) have found that most teachers still deliver information using the traditional lecture method, regardless of students' learning abilities. Instead of being constructive or activity-based, this teaching technique is theoretical and teacher-directed. According to Adeyemi (1997), under the lecture method, the instructor simply becomes an expositor and drill master, while the learner stays a listener and a repository of data that may be recovered when a student hears his or her name called by the teacher. Gimba (2006) found that male attitudes toward female education differed by class. The vast majority of parents send their girls to school. Males in the middle class have a hesitant attitude regarding female education. They enable their girls to progress to the upper secondary level if they show promise. Males in the upper crust have a very favourable attitude toward female education. The majority of the females in this class have completed metric education (Nsofor, 2006). Males support them and even help them pay for their further education. The reaction of women to female education differs slightly from that of men. Although the trends are similar, the percentage of people who support education is significantly lower. Because the gender of the participants may have an influence on the pupils' academic progress, gender will be used as a moderator variable in this study. For a long time, gender variations in accomplishment have been studied, resulting in a considerable body of literature (Johannes, 2001). The necessity of studying instructional method in regard to gender stems mostly from the socio-cultural inequalities that exist between boys and girls (Abra, 2001). Girls have always been taught to conform in our culture, whereas guys are expected to be active and dominating risk-takers. Spencer (2004) also states that girls' games are frequently highly organised, involving turn taking and following rules (Yaki, 2006). As a result, girls may face cultural barriers as a result of societal expectations and conformity demands. In a research, Fabunmi (2004) revealed that gender composition has a considerable impact on secondary school students' academic performance and that gender composition has a significant impact on students' academic attainment. In addition, contradictory data on gender disparities and academic success have been observed (Bello, 1990; ). As a result, it is necessary to determine if gender has an impact on students' academic results in Social Studies. Academic performance is usually assessed through exams or ongoing assessments, but there is no consensus on how best to evaluate it or which parts are most significant. Students have an important role in the development of educational institutions as well as nations as a whole. Educators, trainers, and researchers have long been interested in learning more about the factors that influence student accomplishment quality. In order to improve students' academic performance, we must examine the idea of bad performance. Poor accomplishment, according to Aremu (2000), is a performance that is assessed by the examinees/testees as falling below an expected standard. The continuous cognitive ability of the performance assessor helps to better understand the interpretation of this expected or desired standard (Olowe, 2010). As a result, the purpose of this study is to see how students' gender affects their social studies achievement.

1.2  STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Since the early 1980s, when it became a compulsory subject in Nigeria, the issue of students' underachievement in Social Studies has been a hotly debated educational topic (Yaki, 2006). Such debates have always revolved on the teaching tactics employed to teach the subject. When comparable underachievement in social studies was seen in Nigeria, new teaching approaches such as mastery learning, peer tutoring, computer-assisted instruction, simulation games, and brainstorming were used. It is self-evident that the Nigerian culture sees men as superior to women, and as a result, gender roles are clearly defined in our society. This has a major effect on male and female chemistry students' academic achievement since role differentiation or distinction restricts full involvement, growth, and exploitation of individual potentials, either directly or indirectly (Bello, 1996). Parents' attitudes about their boys and daughters varies in Bogoro. They would rather have a son than a daughter. The parents want a boy since daughters must leave the house and live with their spouses, but sons stay with their parents. Another motivation for wanting a boy is for financial reasons. When the boy reaches adulthood, he must have the responsibility of going out and earning money. As a result, the parents prefer sons to girls. The boys are educated because it is seen as a source of pride and status to educate them. It has also been discovered that the stereotype against women has a negative impact on their academic performance (Aremu, 2010). As a result, the purpose of this study is to look at the impact of gender on academic success of Social Studies JSS II students in public schools in Bauchi State's Bogoro Local Government.

1.3  OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The major goal of this research is to look at the effect of gender differences on the academic achievement of Social Studies students in Bauchi State's Bogoro Local Government.

The study's precise aims are as follows:

 i. To determine the reasons of gender inequalities among public school students.

ii. To determine whether gender has an effect on the academic achievement of Social Studies JSS II students.

 iii. To determine whether there is a difference in the achievement mean scores of male and female students.

iv. To determine how parental attitudes affect differences in academic achievement among kids.

v. Make recommendations for possible solutions to the problem

1.4  RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

In this investigation, the following hypothesis will be evaluated.

1. In Bogoro's public secondary schools, there is no substantial difference in achievement mean scores between male and female students.

2. In Bogoro's public secondary schools, there is no substantial correlation between gender and academic achievement.

1.5   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Counselors, psychologists, social workers, parents, teachers, adolescents, and society as a whole will benefit greatly from the findings of this study. Because gender stereotypes and prejudice have a detrimental impact on secondary students' academic achievement, their talents, abilities, and interests may not be completely developed, preventing them from achieving self-actualization in life. Gender and socioeconomic status variations in academic achievement will be studied in order to provide educators of early adolescents with thought-provoking material and precise instructions to follow. The results of this work, if implemented, should aid psychologists in the application of appropriate learning theories to meet individual differences that already existed in the classroom, as well as provide teachers with solutions on how to reduce the amount of housework assigned to students so that they can better face their studies. The findings of this study will also aid social workers because they will show them how to satisfy the social requirements of students who are experiencing emotional deprivation and how to fill in the gap for the psychological and emotional well-being of the kid generated by societal stereotypes. Teachers who act as surrogates and shoulder the load will benefit from the outcomes of this study. This research will support the instructor in checking and supervising the students' academic records by looking through their class and lesson roles or books, as well as nurturing and assisting psychologically to improve the students' academic achievement. This study will also be beneficial to parents, as they are the primary caregivers for their children. The study will raise their awareness of the negative perceptions and attitudes regarding female education, resulting in a shift in parents' views against educating their female offspring. The findings should be useful to other researchers as a working paper or reference document for future study on the impact of single parenting on children's scholastic aspirations and achievement.

1.6   DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of this research is confined to the effect of gender differences on academic achievement of Social Studies JSS II students in public schools in Bauchi state Bogoro Local Government. Because of the rising rates of gender stereotyping and discrimination in public schools, the researcher felt compelled to carry out the findings of this study. Due to the time and financial restrictions involved in conducting such a research, it is also confined to the Bogoro Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

1.7  DEFINITION OF TERMS

The terminologies used in the study are operationally defined as follows:

Gender is a concept that describes and distinguishes male and female pupils based on their traits.

Academic Achievement: Scores on internal and external exams acquired by students following classroom interactive teaching and learning.

Bogoro: The probe is focused on the local government.

Students: Participants in the study as well as those who benefit from it.

Effect: Gender stereotypes have both beneficial and harmful repercussions for students.

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